Monday, September 28, 2009

Jonathan Thomas and His Christmas on the Moon is a daily children’s series that ran between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 1938. The story begins with six year old Jonathan Thomas lying in bed on Christmas Eve with his teddy bear Guz. While he is lying in bed, two elves slide down a moonbeam into his room. Guz, his teddy bear, chases the elves back up the moonbeam and Jonathan Thomas follows in order to get his Guz back.

Upon reaching the moon, Jonathan Thomas meets the Man in the Moon and his horse Gorgonzola. After being accused of kidnapping Santa Claus, the troop is commanded to bring back him in time for Christmas.

On their adventure, they confront an evil witch, a dragon with thirteen tales, and they meet several characters from the Lewis Carol classic: Alice in Wonderland.

Earplay was the longest-running of the formal series of radio drama anthologies on National Public Radio, heard from 1972 into the 1990s. It approached radio drama as an art form with scripts written by such leading playwrights as Edward Albee, Arthur Kopit, Archibald MacLeish and David Mamet.

Airing in stereo, Earplay provided a showcase for original and adapted work. Eventually, the less-sustained successor series NPR Playhouse drew episodes from the Earplay run. Often presented by NPR member stations on a weekly basis, Earplay episodes were produced with much attention to recording technique and sound-effects.

In 1975, it scored a triumph with Listening, an original play written by Edward Albee for stereo radio, employing one speaker for one character and another speaker for another character. Since both characters are seated in a room, the illusion is created that they are in the same room as the listener. After its premiere on radio, Listening was later performed on stage.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

The Key was a mystery series from Australia that aired in the mid 1950's. Not much is known about the series. There was an ad in the ABC Weekly 11 Dec 1957 and it named the scriptwriter as James Workman who is known as a pulp writer.

James Workman was educated in England and trained as a naval cadet. He spent three years in the London Metropolitan Police. Moving to South Africa, Workman enlisted with the Witwatersand Rifles and later joined a touring theatre company. He worked for the South African Broadcasting Commission as an announcer, scriptwriter and producer, occupations he continued to pursue after his move to Australia.

Child Murderer
Dear John Letter
Extension of Time
Ghostly Organ
Grandpop
Lost in the Amazon
Playing Chicken
Subconscious Experiment
The Archeologist
The Deception
The Embezzler
Union Corruption
What happens when you die
Window Cleaner
Woman Beater
Woman Murdered.

Mystery series about a part-time private eye who ran a boat supply business out of Pier 23 along the Embarcadero in San Francisco's waterfront. This series ran from 4/24/47 to 9/4/47 on Mutual at 8pm on Thursdays and starred Jack Webb.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

CRIME DOES NOT PAY was a series based on short films of the same name produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was similar to Gangbusters, having a moralistic message about the law and lawbreaker. It was first heard over WMGM (NYC), hosted by Donald Buka. The last original show aired on Apr. 11, 1951.

The series started on Monday evenings at 7:30 PM (on WMGM) and held that time/day spot until Oct. 30, 1950. The 56'th show marked a change to Wednesday night, again at 7:30. After show number 78 (Apr. 11, 1951) the shows were repeated, starting with the first, "Kid With a Gun". The repeats followed the original order up until repeat of number 26, "Ingenious Woman" on Oct. 10, 1951. Repeats were not uncommon. Even before the last original show, older shows were repeated on alternate dates to the main series run.

On Jan. 7, 1952, the series moved to Mutual but lasted just one year. Only repeats of the original series were aired and show ordering did not match the first run. The show was heard on Dec. 22, 1952.

19 Nocturne Boulevard is an awesome Audio Drama anthology series, presenting half hour tales of terror, suspense, humor, and madness, in the grand tradition of such classic radio shows as Lights' Out, Quiet Please, and more recent TV shows like The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt.

Curtain Time had two separate runs on radio. The fist run was sponsored by General Mills from 1937 to 1939 and the second aired from 1945 to 1950, sponsored by the Mars Candy Co.

Interesting is that this romantic drama had a theater setting and announcements with the announcer shouting "tickets please". Many of the episodes were romantic stories where a boy meets his dream girl and what happens afterwards.

Announcer for the series was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Defense Attorney ran from 1951 to 1952 and starred Denise McCambridge as Martha Ellis Bryant, defense attorney who would go out of her way to prove their innocence if they were innocent.
&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Whatever Text&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

THE MERCURY THEATER ON THE AIR was first heard as a Summer series of nine shows, on CBS affiliated stations and in Canada on the CBC. It was the first time a theater company brought drama to the radio. The shows featured hour-long dramatizations of classic books. It was produced and directed by Orson Welles, who also acted in the main roles, probably one of the most versatile and creative talents in the history of entertainment.

When the Summer series ended with "The Man Who Was Thursday" on Sept. 5, 1938, CBS continued to sustain the series, until Dec. 4 of that year. It was during this time that the best known show from this series, in fact, the best known radio show in radio's history, was broadcast, the radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds".

The series didn't end on Dec. 4. At the conclusion of the Nov. 6 show, Mr. Welles announced that the Campbell's Soup Company would become sponsor. The series changed its name to THE CAMPBELL PLAYHOUSE and moved from Sunday to Friday. On December 9, 1938, the first show of the new series aired on Friday at 8:00 PM.

The same creative staff stayed on, but the show had a different flavor under sponsorship. This was partially due to a guest star policy which relegated the Mercury Players to supporting roles. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and Houseman, who became more like an employee than a partner. The primary writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.

On June 7, 1946, The Mercury Theater made one last appearence on radio. This was for a Summer series, THE MERCURY SUMMER THEATER. Unlike the 1938 Summer series, these shows were only 30 minutes in length. Compare titles to the other Orson Welles series. Six shows were 30 minute versions of shows of 1938. "I'm a Fool", one story of two in the broadcast of August 23, was also used in 1938. A total of 15 shows were broadcast.

You'll also find one of the best-remembered shows in this series, "The Hitchhiker". First done in 1941 in the Mercury Theater series, this show appeared in SUSPENSE, on September 2, 1942 and even stared Orsen Welles. It appears in many OTR "must-have" lists.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Heartbeat Theater (1956 - 1985) was the last live, regularly scheduled radio drama produced in Hollywood. The first one was produced in December of 1955 and released in March, 1956. I think Preston Foster was in the first one. Raymond Burr did some, Greer Garson--everyone's done a 'Heartbeat' at one time or another. All sorts of famous people appeared on the show.

The Salvation Army saved "Heartbeat" in 1977 with its plan to update sound effects and dramatize social issues. After the 1977 transformation, Hills' new "Heartbeat Theater" wallowed in prostitution, incest and homosexuality with the regularity of a 1980s TV sitcom. At one point, Hills had to discourage an overenthusiastic would-be TV writer from submitting "Heartbeat" plays with a Kojak-like Salvation Army captain climaxing final acts by chasing down villains in a squad car.

The final show, featuring Daws Butler and hosted by "Days of Our Lives" soap-opera doctor MacDonald Carey, was taped Oct. 10, 1985 at Studio House in Hollywood, just after producers George Galbraith and Don Hills got word that the Salvation Army had written them out of their 1985 budget.

Hills, who cranked out 52 morality tales a year for the show, said the Salvation Army spent half its annual media budget on keeping the half-hour drama alive for the 500 U.S. radio stations on the "Heartbeat" distribution list.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Bold Venture is a 1951-1952 syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions.

Salty seadog Slate Shannon (Bogart) owns a Cuban hotel sheltering an assortment of treasure hunters, revolutionaries and other shady characters. With his sidekick and ward, the sultry Sailor Duval (Bacall), tagging along, he encounters modern-day pirates and other tough situations while navigating the waters around Havana. Aboard his boat, the Bold Venture, Slate and Sailor experience "adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean."

Calypso singer King Moses (Jester Hairston) provided musical bridges by threading plot situations into the lyrics of his songs. Music by David Rose. Beginning March 26, 1951, the Frederic W. Ziv Company syndicated 78 episodes. Other sources claim that the 78 episodes include reruns, and that there were only around 30 episodes. Heard on 423 stations, the 30-minute series earned $4000 weekly for Bogart and Bacall.

Check the Fills and Working on section for upgrades and new episodes found.

Whatever Text

Whatever Text

First Lines

01. Alright sailor, Havana, Cuba...
02. You can't tell much about Havana with a boat tied to it...
03. (song) No people come to Shannon's place the cash register...
04. You won't regret this, Mr. Shannon, you see you'll won't... (Bollock)
05. (song) Now in Havana, there is a hotel... (mentions Cincinnati early)
06. (hahaha) I just told you that hotel joke...
07. One thing I don't understand, Mr. Johnson...
08. (song) In Shannon's Place do many dwell the pretty, the ugly...
09. (tire screech) Watch it sailor, that's the second time in two blocks...
10. (whistles) You sound happy, Mr. Calvert... Oh, I am...
11. Is your name Slate Shannon That's right and this is Miss Duval...
12. Ah, Slate, you should have been with us...
13. Ah, that doesn't do it either, sailor, it's a two motored plane...
14. Da da da dum, da da da dum... (Slate singing) Hey Slate!
15. Where are you Slate Stop yelling in my ear...
16. Take the wheel sailor...
17. (song) Shannon's Place, a sight to see new table clothes...
18. Slate, I just had a thought. Well, keep it...
19. (song) The thing to consider when you got to sleep is the bed...
20. Slate, wake up! Come on, wake up! (yawn) go away...
21. (song) I offer information to all who heed If a recuperation...
22. Sailor, let go of the wheel for awhile...
23 (haha) I don't see anything funny...
24. Sailor, come here. How much do you want me
25. And here, Sailor, we see Moral Castle, the famous fort guarding...
26. (song) Mr. Slate, he hold he head in he hand...
27. Jade! Jade!
28. How soon will Slate be back, Miss Duval?
29. That’s enough, Sailor, I can’t run any further
30. Give me another handful of confetti, Sailor
31. The next time I come to the bank to make a deposit, Sailor
32. Now look, Mrs. Baker
33. This is a dirty night to be out on the ocean, Slate
34. Sailor, can you think of anything else to put in this letter to our former guests?
35. You busy, Slate? I’m all finished, come in
36. 36. (song) In the Carribees, is a city of grace/ with pretty women all wrapped in black lace
37. Well, I don’t think it’s a lot to ask you to do, Mr. Shannon
38. (song) To Havana city, the pleasure dome/ come fellows with wives
39. Aww, Sailor, now there’s a sight that goes to his heart
40. Awwww, rock me sailor.
41 We ought to do this more often, Slate, You like window shopping?
42. Aww Slate, Trajiho. Aren’t the lights beautiful?
43. Can you lift his feet, Sailor?
44. (song) In Cuba de grow da banana tree/ tree for you, banana for me
45. You’ve been walking the wrong way. Mr. John Bradford’s place is
46. Mr. Slate, I have... What’s wrong, King?
47. Oh Joy, Oh, Joy
48. Feels good, huh, Sailor?
49. A week, a whole week back in civilization. You don’t know what it means
50. If I wasn’t so tired, Slate, I’d take what’s left to the night to thank you
51. Out of gas, huh?
52. Come on, Slate, stop dragging. Take another hitch in your trenchcoat
53 "You know the trouble with you, Sailor?"
54 (laughter) "Oh, Mrs. Moyer, you're just a whiz-bang, that's all!"
55. Sailor, stand still a minute. I want you to slip into this.
56. {ha-ha-ha} Aww. What’ll they think of next?